Wedge



Patented Ayug. 2, 1927.

UNiTEDsTATEs TnAnDEi'is L. E. HAUG, or BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

WEDG-E.

Application inegi Aprii 2a,

Thisinvention relates to improvements in wedges and particularly towedges of the type' employed in fitting` up boltsas exemplified in my U.S. Letters Patent No. 1,404,- 95.5, granted January 3l, 1922. Y

l The primary object ofthe invention is to provide a wedge which may beeasily and effectively wedged in place and will remain in proper wedgingposition regardless of irregularities in the construction of the work orother elements with which the wedge is employed. i Y y It frequentlyhappens in tting up plate work preliminary to riveting or permanentassembling operations, that the holes in the plates doV not alineproperly and when einploying fitting up bolts of the type above referredto having the ordinary wedge associated therewith, in drawing the platework` together while the wedge is engaged with one of the plates, theother of the plates may engage th'ewedge and push it out of .place andthereby permitthe headvor abut-` ment end of the bolt to shift'out ofplace and to also shear away some of the metal of the plate with whichthe head or abutment is engaged.

yAnother objection k,sometimes attending the use of fitting up bolts Vofthe type above referred to wherein the wedge is not of the specialconstruction as exemplified by the present invention, is that whentightening up the nut on the bolt, the wedge tends to slip out of placein an axial direction, due to pressure from the bolt and to the vibration ofpneuniatic riveting on adjoining parts of the structure beingbolted. Under these conditions the wedge sometimes fails to hold thebolt properly in place.

The present invention 4contemplates a wedge construction which will',when the nut is tightened onthe bolt, positively prevent the Awedge from.slipping axially out of place l becauseof lateral pressureorrvibration.

The inventionthereforerelates to the provision of a wedge'and animproved fittingl up bolt provided' by reason of the improved wedge,which boltwill do away with the objections herein referredto and'producea saving in labor and expense as compared to previoiis types of fittingup bolts.

l/Vitlr the above mentioned and other objects in View, the invention:consists in the 'i novelconstruction and combination of partshereinafter described, illustrated in the a'c\ vdrawing the wedge Kinplace.

192s. semi No. 633,896.

compa'nying drawings, and set forth in the claimshereto appended, itbeing understood vthat various changes in the form, proportion,

size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claimsmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages Vof the inven- 2U. S. PatentNo. 1,404,955 as arrangedwhen `drawing two plates or structural` members together.

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the bolt of S.

Patent No. 1,404,955. taken on the line 2--2 of Fig'. l', and lookingtoward the abutment end of the'bolt.` y I,

Fig.` 3 isa side elevation of the bolt of the present invention, asvarranged v.when drawing two structural members together.

Fig. 4t is an enlarged cross section vof Athe bolt of thepresentinvention, taken on line 4.4 of Fig. 3, and looking toward theabutment endof thebolt. f 1 V Fig. 5 is an' enlarged top view of thelooking down on Fig. 3 from a point in the plane of thedrawing. l

F 6 is an venlarged elevation of the wedge ofl the boltof the .presentinvention,

wedge, looking at Fig. 5 frein the right hand Siae.

Yse

shown the constructionas .exemplifiedfin niy U. Letters Patent hereinabove referred to, and in" these figures, l and 2 nepresent plates orstructural niembersfwhich are to be set up byl the bolt and which areprovided with registering holes Sandl 4f adaptedto receive the bolt body5. The bolt body has an offset abutment member or head delining alocking shoulder? adapted to engage the outside of the plate 1. The boltbody is also provided with screw threads y8 at its other end and on saidscrew threads a nut 9 is turned'.l The vbolt body is provided with achannel lO in which a wedge 1l is slidable longitudinally. The wedge isprovided with a steinvl2, which extends beyond the threaded end ofthe'bolt so that it is available for With. the wedge inthe positionshown in Fig. l, asthe nut is turned to tighten the bolt and the plate 2is drawn toward the plate 1,y be* fore the plates contact, the plate 2may foul theinner end or toe 1.3 ofthe wedge and no y i push the ,wedgeout of place. If this occurs Y mounted, are` pulled together upontig'lnen-V the abutment 6 may slip partially orientirely off of itsbearing on the plate 1; Even if it slips olf only partially, the boltmoves away from the side of the hole directly under-the abutment and thepressure from the latter caused. by the pull on the bolt may be` solintense that the side of the hole will become burred inwards andinterfere with the ready removal of the bolt afterwart Objections ofthis `sort are time consuming and costly.`

Although these occasions do not frequently occurthey will taire place incertain intances `where the holes do not properly aline, `often 'enoughto warrant correction.

` As shown in Figs.l 3, e, "and 6, the wedge iio toe as provided `intheprevious form of wedge particularly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Thuswhen the plates and 16 having openings 17 therein, iii which the bolt 18is ing the nut 19 on the screw threaded end 2O of the bolt body, thewedge will` `not be Y. fouled and pushed out of engagement' with theplate member 16. The wedge Mis of hard material and is welded orotherwise secured to a bendable, softer metal stem 21 having" a `fingerpiece 22 on its outer end.

VThe wedgeand stem are adapted to engage ina channel or groove 23extending,longitudinally of the bolt body. The bolt body isprovided atone end with an offset head or abutment 23 defining 1a .shoulder 24adapted to abut the plate 15.V In all respects the bolt body and its'associated parts, with the exception of the wedge in the presentinvention, are the same as the corresponding parts in the embodiment `ofthe invention illustrated in Figs. 1' and 2,"the present invention Vashereinbefore stated, dealing specitically with the construction andarrange`- ment of the wedge.

Due to the slope of the wedge face 25 and the absence ofthe toe, thewedge can only be moved axially along the bolt surface and uponengagement of the plate 16 with the `wedging surface, the bolt `will notbe permitted to move laterally and will be held in y' place and preventdisengagement of the shoulder 24 with the plate 15.

In order to avoid the necessity of making the wedge stem 21comparatively long and to provide additional clearance for the wedge inunfair holes, it is advisable to form the wedge face with a steep sloperelative to the axis of the bolt body. In addition to this, means, aswill be disclosed hereinafter, is

' provided in the Wedge which permits of the use of this steepslopewithout danger of the wedge slipping out of the hole under lateralpressure and `vibration, due to riveting the work, and without dangerofthe Wedge fail- .ing to grip in the hole in saidplate. This means`will also prevent the bolt from turn ing when the nut is tightened.

. As the nut 19 is screwed up in a clockwise direction, its friction onthe bolt threads ltends to rotate the bolt, and to prevent thisrota-tion, the Y operator pulls outwardly on the stem 21 to force thewedge surface 25 intoengagement with the side of the hole in the plate15. The friction thus set upto-V gethenwith the turning of the body 18(F ig. 4) causes a lateral toggle action due 'to the manner of `mountingthe wedge in the groove or channel,`whichitog`gle action tends toprevent rotation of the bolt body, the

"sloping corner27 ofthe wedge indenting the side ofthe hole sutlicientlyto cause such action, `the material of the wedge being harder than thematerial of .the plates or structural members. When this occurs thewedge slope on the `-corner27 may allow the wedge to slip gradually outof `the hole of the plate 15 due to the lateral pressure of the body 18,or due to the vibration-of the pneumaticy riveting operation takingplace adjacent to the setting up point. To prevent this slipping ofthen/edge, I provide diagonally disposed notches, valleys or depressions26 on the wedge surface 25, which notches or `depressions intersect thecorners or edges 27 of the wedge surface.` pressions are preferablyplaced in a direction pointing from the corners 27 at the edges of thewedge surface and diagonally toward the top ofthe wedge slope orthickest portion of the wedge. Where the softer metal of the plate 15presses against the wedge, it tends to sink into thev notches,

grooves or depressions ofthe harder wedge material'soithat the wedge canthen slip out `only by rocking over in'such a way as to further indentthe side of the'hole in the plate, (Fig. 5). grooves or depressions 26insures a positive grip of the wedge, which prevents rotation of thebolt 1, for if thewedge is carried around with the bolt upon rotationofthe latter, the grooves or depressions 26 tend to force the wedge morefirmly and further into the hole 17l due tothe diagonal disposition ofthe depressions 26 and thus jam the boltagainst further'turning- Whileit is apparent that the valleys or grooves could run squarely across thesurface 25, or a portion thereof, and thus limit slipping of the wedgefrom the hole in the plate 15, I prefer the The grooves or de-f Theconvergence of thediagonal arrangement because of the advany tages abovepointed out resulting therefrom.

Although the bolt could be held against turning by providing a knurledwedge sur# face, the diagonal gashes ordepressions eX- emplified inthisinvention are more advantageous to pull the wedge longitudinallyinto place-by cooperation of thewedgewiththe softer surrounding metal ofthe `plate 15.

Moreover, the gashes or grooves are more durable or lasting thanlmurling, as they metal slitting saws or stamping With a mul-` tipleedged tool in a drop press.

In the drawing, the diagonally disposed grooves or depressions have beenshown on both right and left hand sides of the Wedging surface. Those`on the right hand or leading side come into operation when the bolt isbeing tightened and maintain the bolt in fastened position, Whereasthose on the left or following side of the Wedge surface are of serviceonly in slackening off the bolt for removal from the Work and can beomitted Without impairing the efficiency rof the bolt as a. fastening'device.

I claim:

l. A bolt having an abutment at each end and means which may be movedinto and out of position to lock said bolt against vvithdrawal and topermit its release While both of the abutments are maintained in fixedposition on the bolt, Which means includes a Wedging surface providedwith grooves eX- tending in a direction across said surface.

2. A bolt havingan abutment at each end and means which may be movedinto and out of position to lock said bolt against Withdrawal and topermit its release While both of the abutments are maintained in fixedposit-ion on the bolt, Which means includes a vvedging surface providedWith grooves 4eX- tending in a direction diagonally across said surface.

3. A bolt comprising a body having an abutment at each end and a Wedgeassociated with the body for the purpose of locking the bolt againstWithdrawal from an opening into which it has been inserted, theextremities of Which ivedge are capable of extension beyond theabutments, said Wedge having grooves extending in a directionV across aWedging surface thereof.

4;. A bolt comprising a body having an abutment at each end and a Wedgeassociated with the body for the purpose of locking the bolt againstwithdrawal from an opening into Which it has been inserted, theextremi-Y ties of which Wedge are capable of extension beyond theabutments, said Wedge having grooves extending in a direction diagonallyacross a vvedging surface thereof.

5. A fitting up bolt comprising a bolt or abutment member to securestructural Work, and a Wedge member of harder material. than thestructural Work to hold said bolt or abutment member in fasteningposition, said Wedge member having one or more grooves placed diagonallycrossWise of its Wedging surface.

THADDEUS L. E. HAUG.

